New effect in intention plates

September 11, 2013

I’m starting this blog post with the photos, because what I have to say is more about the actual image of the effect in this intention plate than about these words I’m using to describe it. Feel free to click on the images in the photo gallery above to enlarge them and then really take a good look at the images, because I don’t want you to miss what I’m talking about. If you look at the area of this plate where the copper mesh embellishment is, you should be able to see a very different effect around the copper mesh than I’ve ever seen before in my fused glass intention plates. The air that was trapped between the layers of glass around the copper mesh has created very interesting new patterns here in this plate.

To me, the air bubbles almost look like an aura surrounding the bear in this plate. The air bubble in the heartline arrow in the middle of the bear also has a shape that is much finer and more artistic in this particular intention plate than in any other I’ve made using this exact same bear shape. Instead of the air bubbles being small and round, in this plate they are much finer and create squiggly lines and patterns that I’ve never seen before in a fused glass piece.

Most of the work in this particular batch of intention plates came out with air bubbles looking a little similar, but not to this extreme extent. I would guess that this was a one-of-a-kind event which is unlikely to be duplicated in future pieces. I’m not sure whether it was the particular pieces of glass I chose or some atmospheric anomaly or something else entirely, which makes it even harder to contemplate trying to replicate the effect. If I knew what caused it, I might be able to try replicating it, but since I don’t, it’s unlikely to happen again.

And, for me, that’s one of the great things about making art. Each time I create a new piece, that piece is likely to be the ONLY piece just like it in the whole wide world. The glass is slightly different, the embellishment is just a little different, the writing is a little different, even the air bubbles can be different, and all of those differences add up to a piece that is not quite the same as another, even if I’m trying to duplicate a piece. And that is what separates art from assembly line, mechanically-made plates that you might buy at any retail outlet. Awesome!

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